Kolby

Allard

Allard had a surprising 2.63 ERA in 65 innings (two starts, 31 relief appearances) for the Guardians last season, lowering his career mark from 5.99 to 5.34. He had just a 16% strikeout rate in the process, so there’s not really any reason to expect him to do it again. The Guardians, though, have a way of coaxing these kinds of results from journeymen.

All six players have elected free agency instead of sticking around with the Guardians. No real surprises here as Cleveland clears some space on its 40-man roster heading into the offseason. Lively is the most prominent name by a considerable margin, but he’s going to miss a significant portion of next season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Allen had a solid season, with a 4.25 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and a 122/62 K/BB ratio in 156 2/3 innings. However, with the Guardians not needing as many starting pitchers, they will carry guys like Matt Festa and Kolby Allard instead. Joey Cantillo should serve as the bulk reliever in this series.

This was just Allard’s third start of the season and first since May 28. He was working as a multi-inning reliever for practically all of June, but had transitioned to a one-inning guy recently. So, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see him pulled in the fourth inning after throwing 42 pitches. It was frustrating though, since it seemed like he could’ve cruised to a win if he’d been able to throw just 25 or so more pitches. He was only thrust into the rotation because the team needed an extra starter after a double-header this past weekend to keep the rest of their staff on regular rest.

Allard is back with Cleveland and will be active for Wednesday’s game in Houston. The 27-year-old southpaw elected free agency earlier this week, but ultimately decided to stick around with the Guardians as extra relief depth. He posted a solid 2.55 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 16/8 K/BB ratio across 35 1/3 innings (16 appearances, one start) earlier this season.

It was mildly surprising to see Allard removed from Cleveland’s 40-man roster last week after posting a 2.55 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 16/8 K/BB ratio across 35 1/3 innings (16 appearances, one start) this season. The 27-year-old southpaw will head out to the open market in search of a new opportunity elsewhere.

The Guardians needed to clear a spot on their active roster for some fresh arms that can cover multiple innings on Thursday and unfortunately Allard was the odd man out this time around. The 27-year-old left-hander posted a 2.55 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and a 16/8 K/BB ratio over 35 1/3 innings in 16 appearances with the Guardians. Given the overall lack of quality pitching depth around the league, he could attract interest on waivers.

The Guardians were surely just fine with this performance in Allard’s first start since being called up on April 26. He has a 2.05 ERA through 22 innings, even though he’s struck out just 10 batters. He’ll be available again out of the pen this weekend.

Allard bolsters Cleveland’s relief mix heading into Saturday’s doubleheader against the Red Sox at Progressive Field. The well-traveled 27-year-old former top prospect has made 76 appearances (42) starts in the big leagues dating back to 2018. He’ll most likely operate in long relief out of the Guardians’ bullpen and doesn’t offer any appeal for fantasy purposes.

Brennan’s shot at making Cleveland’s season-opening roster evaporated last weekend when the club swung a trade with the Rockies to bring back corner outfielder Nolan Jones. He’ll open the regular season back in the minors, but should be the Guardians first call when injuries strike at the highest level.